Chapter 453 – Palpitations from That World – We’re Going Home (21)
Although Chen Wan had absorbed Li Pai’s emotions, it was far from enough. The most crucial sliver of his soul had been taken away by Wen Junnan, leaving him unable to sustain this space-time any longer. As a result, the entire dimension was collapsing—and the collapse was accelerating as his power continued to drain.
“Even if I die, I won’t let you get out.”
Chen Wan knew his end was near. From Wen Junnan, he sensed that mysterious power obtained decades ago, and he understood he was no match for him. But he hadn’t fallen yet—he still had one last move.
Ning Sitong pushed open the window. Bandaged figures were guarding the entrance, making it impossible to pass through the door. Jumping out the window was their only way to avoid being crushed by the collapsing building.
“Go!” Ning Sitong shoved Li Tefeng out first. Then she turned back and urged Wen Junnan, who was still sitting on the sofa staring at his coat, “Hurry up, you too. You can get out from here!”
Chen Wan ignored Ning Sitong’s betrayal. Out of thin air, he produced a small flute and brought it to his lips.
The puppets whose power he had not reclaimed sprang into action. Those outside advanced toward the house, while those inside closed in on Wen Junnan. In his pocket, the little squirrel writhed in pain. Ning Sitong, struck by a splitting headache, lost her balance while climbing out the window and fell—but luckily, Li Tefeng had already made it out and caught her.
The bandaged man trusted no one. He had marked everyone who worked for him. If anyone disobeyed—even if they fled to the ends of the earth—he could make their head feel as if it were splitting apart until they died.
“Tang Tang, be good~” Wen Junnan said softly, heart aching, as he reached into his pocket to stroke the little squirrel’s back, using his spiritual power to soothe him.
Bai Tang’s power came from the same source as Wen Junnan’s and was naturally of a higher tier than the bandaged man’s. Now that the bandaged man’s strength was insufficient, that discomfort was quickly suppressed by Wen Junnan.
The little squirrel soon returned to normal and gently nibbled on the man’s finger, signaling that he was fine.
Wen Junnan rubbed his head. “There are snacks in the pocket, but nothing too heaty—you can’t eat those with your injury. Tang Tang, no sneaking snacks.”
Wen Junnan felt the little squirrel stiffen, followed by a warm sensation on his finger—Tang Tang protesting his merciless suppression.
Making a squirrel watch food but not eat it—such behavior was downright devilish.
It was naturally a good thing that Bai Tang was lively and full of energy again, but that didn’t mean his injuries had healed. And until they did, he had to watch his diet.
Wen Junnan zipped up the pocket, leaving only a small opening for air, then lightly patted the bulging pocket to make sure the little squirrel was still there.
After all, Bai Tang had snuck away many times before—just thinking about it gave Wen Junnan lingering anxiety.
The reason Chen Wan appeared as a bandaged man was because, before obtaining his power, he had been a man severely burned in a fire, his entire body wrapped in bandages. In the end, he died in agony on a hospital bed. His overwhelming resentment kept him from passing on, and by a twist of fate, he obtained a soul fragment imbued with special power.
After ruling this alternate space-time for decades, the power he had gained had long since fed and inflated his ambition. Chen Wan could not accept the outcome of his defeat. Even if he had to die, he would drag Wen Junnan down with him. Only if Wen Junnan died would the soul fragment return to him—then he could be reborn and continue ruling this dimension.
At some point, a massive cleaver appeared in Chen Wan’s hand. Wen Junnan dodged to the side as the blade came down. It sliced through iron like mud, splitting the sofa cleanly in two.
The stench coming from Chen Wan’s severely burned body was unbearable. At close range, the putrid, decaying smell was enough to make anyone gag.
The little squirrel burrowed into the pile of snacks in the pocket. So the stench he had noticed when he first arrived hadn’t been from a dirty environment—it had come from the bandaged man himself. Ugh… disgusting…
Wen Junnan evaded several of Chen Wan’s attacks and quickly figured out his fighting pattern. Honestly, Chen Wan’s combat skills weren’t impressive—he was relying entirely on the sharpness of his weapon.
The cleaver slashed down again. Wen Junnan kicked a puppet that lunged at him, knocking it over, then grabbed its arm and dragged it in front of him to block the strike.
The puppet felt no pain—it had no life. It stared blankly at its own severed arm lying on the ground, its heavily rouged cheeks giving it a strangely dazed, almost cute expression.
Peeking through the gap in the zipper, Bai Tang saw the puppet’s eerie yet oddly adorable face. It didn’t seem so frightening anymore—in fact, it was kind of cute.
Ah… his sense of aesthetics might be getting a little warped~
Before being turned into puppets, these figures had also been players. Once this space-time collapsed, those turned into puppets could return to the real world—but people like Li Pai and the Wei sisters could not.
The cleaver was too sharp—nothing could counter it.
As the ground shook more violently, Wen Junnan chose to sacrifice one of his hands to catch the descending blade.
Joy flashed across Chen Wan’s face. His already grotesque features twisted further with his grin, making him look even more horrifying.
But Wen Junnan’s move was a feint. It looked as though he had no choice but to sacrifice his hand to stop the blade, but in reality, he had already targeted Chen Wan’s lower body. Repeating the same trick he had used in the dream game, he knocked Chen Wan to the ground.
He grabbed Chen Wan’s wrist. Charred, dead skin mixed with blood peeled away, creating a nauseating sight that most people wouldn’t dare look at.
Yet Wen Junnan acted as if he saw nothing. He forcefully broke Chen Wan’s strength, dislocating his arm, and kicked the cleaver into a corner.
Punch after punch, Wen Junnan slammed into Chen Wan’s face. Layers of charred skin peeled away, and the dull thudding sounds—bang, bang, bang—were enough to make one’s scalp tingle.
“Junnan, get out here!” The window was high, and Li Tefeng had to jump with all his strength just to get half his head above it.
Watching the situation inside, he was extremely anxious. Outside, more and more puppets were approaching the house. Fortunately, the window was off to the side, and under the cover of darkness and trees, the puppets hadn’t noticed them.
Li Tefeng was anxious that Wen Junnan still hadn’t come out, while also having to keep an eye on Ning Sitong, whose splitting headache made her prone to hurting herself by banging into walls. It could be said he was extremely busy.
As Chen Wan lost his ability to fight back, Ning Sitong’s headache gradually eased, and her mind slowly cleared.
“We can’t keep going like this,” she said weakly, pulling on Li Tefeng. “There’s a warehouse not far from here… there’s gasoline inside…”
Li Tefeng helped Ning Sitong lean against a tree. “Alright, I’ll go right now. Stay away from the house.” He was truly afraid that if he didn’t make it back in time, Wen Junnan wouldn’t get out—and Ning Sitong might end up crushed under the collapsing building.
“If I die, that little beast won’t survive either,” Chen Wan said weakly, on his last breath. He knew he wouldn’t live, but the spiritual power he had planted inside the little squirrel would, at the moment of his death, drag its host down with him.
“Whether someone dies or not isn’t up to you.” Hearing Chen Wan’s dying curse, the anger brewing in Wen Junnan’s eyes erupted completely. Flames instantly burst up all around them.
By the time Li Tefeng returned, exhausted from hauling the gasoline over, he was dumbfounded at the blazing fire inside the house.
What the hell did I work so hard for?!
“Stop staring—get over here!” Ning Sitong urged him to pour the gasoline.
At the front door, the puppets had already broken it open, but they hesitated to advance, fearful of the raging flames inside.
“Squeak squeak squeak—!” The little squirrel was sweating from the heat, unable to endure the high temperature any longer, and squeaked from inside the pocket to urge Wen Junnan to run.
Wen Junnan didn’t linger in the fight. He rushed to the window, took the gasoline that Li Tefeng was struggling to hold up, and splashed it inside. Amid Chen Wan’s terrified screams, he jumped out the window.
Boom—!
A series of explosions followed. The house collapsed with overwhelming force, and then, from the center of the house, a white light spread outward in all directions. Everything touched by the light turned to ash.
Li Tefeng held Ning Sitong’s hand, guilt written across his face. “I might not be able to take you back.”
Ning Sitong smiled. “It’s worth it. I don’t regret it.” No longer aiding evil, no longer dragging more lives into this—and also, meeting someone who refused to let go even in the face of death.
No one can outrun light. Before long, the white light swallowed the entire space-time.
Li Tefeng was awakened by his roommate. He sat up on his bed—one moment he had been waiting for death, and the next he was seeing his roommate. Everything had felt so real, like a fleeting dream.
“You’ve got some nerve, huh? Not only did you hook up with a girl, you even dared to bring her back to the dorm?”
Li Tefeng was completely stunned. Following his roommate’s gaze toward the bathroom, he saw the silhouette of a graceful figure reflected on the frosted glass—vague and alluring, leaving much to the imagination.
Ning Sitong didn’t keep everyone waiting for long. Wearing Li Tefeng’s clothes, she walked out from inside, drawing a chorus of teasing “oohs” and “tsk tsk” from his roommates.
So it wasn’t a dream after all.
Li Tefeng hurriedly got out of bed and grabbed a bedsheet, wrapping Ning Sitong up tightly from head to toe. “Didn’t you guys all go home? Why are you suddenly back? It’s not even night yet—go, go on, get out!”
Flustered and incoherent, Li Tefeng pushed all his roommates out. But when he turned to face Ning Sitong, he suddenly found himself at a loss for words.
Ning Sitong let out a soft laugh and took the initiative to hook her arm through his. “My boyfriend, aren’t you going to take me to buy some women’s clothes?”
For some reason, the more she looked at Li Tefeng’s clumsy, dumbfounded expression, the cuter he seemed. Since he wouldn’t take the initiative, she would.
“O-Okay…” Li Tefeng was still immersed in that one word—boyfriend. He became as obedient as a little newlywed wife, doing whatever Ning Sitong said. From today on, he was someone with a girlfriend too—no need to envy others anymore.
Wen Junnan woke up on the grass and immediately checked his pocket.
The little squirrel was sleeping soundly inside, still clutching a pine nut in its paws. Its tail had regained its liveliness, occasionally flicking back and forth.
“Tang Tang…”
Wen Junnan tenderly scooped up the little squirrel and kissed him again and again, as if he could never get enough.
Bai Tang got annoyed. Who was disturbing his peaceful sleep? Without even opening his eyes, he swiped out with a claw.
If Wen Junnan hadn’t dodged in time, that handsome face of his would probably have been ruined.
Missing his target, the little squirrel didn’t continue the attack. Instead, he rolled over and went back to sleep. The air was fresh and sweet—it wasn’t often he got such a good rest.
Wen Junnan chuckled softly. He stood up, brushed the grass off his clothes, then placed the little squirrel back into his pocket. In a lighthearted mood, he walked toward the bus stop.
Tang Tang… we’re going home.